Olympics: A 21-point plan for uniformity

Kristin
Jones has been doing a great job monitoring the Chinese media and the more
unofficial online world. One of the realities she has pointed out is the similarity
of coverage across China's
media when sensitive issues crop up. There is a reason for that.

An interesting piece, "Screws
tighten on mainland journalists," ran in the South China Morning Post, Hong
Kong's largest English-language daily. SCMP staff in Beijing spoke with some Chinese
reporters recently and they told SCMP of a 21-point directive that came down
last month from the Central
Propaganda Department. Taboo subjects include everything from seating
arrangements for dignitaries at the opening ceremonies, food safety issues, and
an outright ban on using any source of information other than the official
Xinhua News Agency for Games-related scandals. The standard rules for referring
to Taiwan (the acceptable form is "Chinese Taipei" not the Republic of China (Taiwan) were also on the list, but no
mainland Chinese reporter really needs to be reminded of that.

The SCMP was risky--not so much for them, but for their
sources. The Central Propaganda Department regularly hands down these sorts of
directives to editors around the country. Chinese journalists who publicize
them can face severe punishment. Shi Tao, is serving out a 10-year
sentence for posting notes from a 2004 directive issued by China's Propaganda
Department that instructed the media how to cover the 15th anniversary of the
military crackdown in Tiananmen Square.

Jimmy Cheng Qinghua, an editor for state-run China Radio
International (CRI) in Beijing, who now lives in
exile in the United
States, gave CPJ the
directives he saved while he worked on CRI's desk. They covered everything
from sensitive political issues to banal tabloid scandals. Having released the
information, Cheng knew he wouldn't be able to return to China without facing serious
jail time.

The media story from Beijing has remained focused on how
foreign journalists are being hassled in China; restricted Internet access, police
abuse, surveillance of activities are all legitimate issues. But when the IOC
gave the Games to Beijing in 2001--"There will be no restrictions on journalists
in reporting on the Olympic Games," the Beijing Olympics organizers said in
their official bid--there was no distinction made between foreign and Chinese
journalists.

I've been urging international reporters to
cover China's media as a story on its own, and to talk with their Chinese
colleagues about how they are covering their country and the Games. They should
seek out their Chinese colleagues and compare notes while they are in Beijing.

(Reporting from Hong Kong)

Bob Dietz, coordinator of CPJ’s Asia Program, has reported across the continent for news outlets such as CNN and Asiaweek. He has led numerous CPJ missions, including ones to Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Follow him on Twitter @cpjasia and Facebook @ CPJ Asia Desk.